If Aluminum can, in fact, not be sterilized I would love to know why.
Aluminum can be sterilized. A variety of methods exist for sterilizing any material, including (but certainly not limited to) food, medical devices such as needles/syringes, and surgical metals. Here are two ways you can sterilize aluminum: Autoclave it. Autoclaving is a process where you heat an item up to approximately 300 degrees F, under high pressure. The combination of the pressure and the heat kills anything that's alive, rendering it sterile. Almost every lab in the country has at least one autoclave machine and most labware manufacturers today build their products keeping in mind that the product will be autoclaved (perhaps many dozens of times) in the future. Gamma radiation. Gamma radiation sources, such as Cobalt-60, are used to sterilize almost every item you can think of that is individually packaged in a hospital or laboratory, including test tubes, general labware, and any other liquid-handling instruments. Some foods are also sterilized this way to increase shelf life (don't worry, the food never holds any of the radiation). Aluminum can not only be sterilized, but it can be sterilized using techniques and protocols very common today. Hope this helps.
Sterilization refers to the ability to clean a surface of bacterium. Simply pouring rubbing alcohol on something sterilizes it. Aluminum can be sterilized just as good as any other metal. If it couldn't, would we ship our favorite drinks in cans of it?
